New GMA's Appointments: Ebdane to DND, Nachura to SC (tags)
Malacañang formally announced yesterday the appointment of former public works chief Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. as the new defense secretary, ignoring recommendations for a civilian to head the sensitive post. Ebdane, 58, replaces Avelino Cruz, who quit unexpectedly in November, fueling speculation of a rift in President Arroyo’s Cabinet over moves to change the Constitution. Also at Malacañang yesterday, Chief Justice Reynato Puno announced Mrs. Arroyo’s appointment of Solicitor General Antonio Eduardo Nachura as Supreme Court associate justice. Ebdane was reportedly the one who brought out of the country former elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano at the height of the vote rigging controversy involving Mrs. Arroyo. Ebdane denied the accusations
Neocon Chickenhawks: A Small Tightly-Knit Clan Part 2 (tags)
This list of intricate, overlapping connections is hardly exhaustive or perhaps even surprising. But it helps reveal an important fact. Contrary to appearances, the neocons do not constitute a powerful mass political movement. They are instead a small, tightly-knit clan whose incestuous familial and personal connections, both within and outside the Bush administration, have allowed them grab control of the future of American foreign policy.